Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - The Morning Star A21
A20 Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - The Morning Star
hoopla.com; Redefining Online Gaming hoopla.com is a revolutionary charitable gaming website that launched August 4, 2012 at the 12th Annual Starkey Hearing Foundation Gala in St. Paul, MN.. This new website is redefining the online gaming model by enabling users to play their favorite games online, select which charities they Left: Giuseppe Simpatico, Artichtech Newmedia Inc. wish to raise money for, help out communities Middle: Brad Marshall, Artistech Newmedia Inc. across the globe and win substantial Right Duane Lockwood, hoopla.com President prizes like cars, vacations, electronics and charity-affiliated mission trips. This philanthropic approach to online entertainment will empower gamers and humanitarians around the world to make a Imagine if you could help out positive impact with their time spent “Gaming am mingg for Good” – a truly unique and rewarding ng communities across the globe with experience. Two-hundred-and-fifteen million hours each day are just a click of your fingers… spent on online gaming, and by redefining the draw of online gaming, Would you spend just a few of hoopla.com has created a format that will increase the social responsibility of the Internet’s existing 1.1 billion casual gaming users: your leisure hours to “I really get excited about the chance to give back and build something that will Game for Good? inÁ e help the world,” says Duane Lockwood, itiv s o President of hoopla.com. He feels satisfied ep r i p s n knowing that the 215 million hours that are be a lps i e h par t of t a something th spent gaming daily in the U.S. alone will promote positive social awareness and change through hoopla.com. Join the fun With over 145 million active gamers in North America alone, and 29% of Internet time currently rrently ntly and make a being spent on gaming, hoopla.com has a genuine opportunity to make a revolutionary impact on world of the online gaming world. User by user, the site will have the ability to impact change in change the world by encouraging its community to simply play their favorite games. hoopla.com has committed to donate a portion of their advertising revenues to notable Play games, charities, with the hope that as the community of users increases, the charitable percentage win prizes! donated will increase as well. hoopla.com carefully selects its charitable partners, andwhat’s all the intends to continue to incorporate international charities to its site that complement one another. The hoopla.com mission is all encompassing in that the company would like to eventually address charity efforts in all areas of health and wellness, leaving no facet untouched. about? The vision of hoopla.com will allow the public’s perception of online gaming to shift into an activity with the potential to contribute positively to the world, essentially an ability to game for good. ue
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hoopla.com is gaming for good!
The hoopla mission is to inspire positive, influential hoopla.com change in the world by revolutionizing the Internet gaming model and making it possible for people to have fun while helping others.
hoopla
H o o p l a Te a m !
High-tech Growth in Okanagan Kelowna might seem like an odd place to launch a new online gaming website for North America. But don’t under-estimate the influence of the Okanagan lifestyle, combined with the global approach behind Internet business ventures today. “There are five of us who started this company and have dedicated our lives to building this company, and we all live here,” said Duane Lockwood, the president and chief financial officer for Hoopla.com. “For me I was with a financial services company here for many years and we had decided this is where we wanted to live.” “The questions will become whether or not we need to locate a head office in the U.S. or Great Britain as we morph and grow, but at this stage we are all quite comfortable to have our head office in Kelowna.” Lockwood said since the concept behind hoopla.com began to take shape more than two years ago, even he has been surprised at the growth of Kelowna’s version of the Silicon Valley technology landscape. “I think Kelowna is a bit of a technology hotspot right now.
Proud strategic, charitable, technological and media partners. For more information on charitable partners, please visit www.hoopla.com
When you look at the success of Club Penguin and others, and we’ve just gotten involved with Accelerate Okanagan and see the things happening there, this is a good place for us to be.” “And to be able to work where you live is really great.” From their Manhattan Drive office location, Lockwood and his fellow investors are excited about the Aug. 4 official launch of the hoopla.com gamesite. They feel upbeat about their revolutionary identity behind the website, a charitable approach to online entertainment, looking to tap into a casual gaming consumer market that has grown 130 per cent annually for the last eight years. Lockwood says, “Coming up with a name to represent the convergence of entertainment, charity donation and on-site advertising, was a challenge.” “A staff member’s husband originally suggested hoopla.com. It’s short, precise and exciting, and really seems to resonate with people.” Join the hoopla movement, get hooplafied and play your favourite games for good on hoopla.com